Bishops take the oars in sponsored row

Bishops Graham, John and Robert will help raise money for Holland House with a sponsored row!

The Bishop of Dudley, the Rt Revd Graham Usher and the Rt
Revd Robert Paterson, Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Worcester will be
joining the Revd Ian Spencer in a sponsored row from Cropthorne to Tewkesbury
on 19 September. The 20 mile trip will raise money towards the refurbishment of
the Chapel at retreat house, Holland House in Cropthorne, where Ian is the
Warden.

The Bishops and Ian will be rowing in ‘Maria’, a wooden
boat which belongs to the retreat house. The boat was kindly bought by Dr
Deborah Jones a couple of years ago and the woodwork has recently been
completely refurbished by Bishop Robert. At some point on the journey, they
will also be joined by the Bishop of Worcester, Dr John Inge. The full journey
will be completed by Bishop Robert and Ian and will take around 10 hours.

Ian Spencer said:

“We have been gradually improving our
beautiful chapel and now want to install permanent disabled access. As well as
the bishops in the Diocese of Worcester, we’ve also received strong support
from the Bishop of Gloucester for our row and we’re hoping that people across
both dioceses will get behind us with sponsorship money or by coming to see us
on the day!”

Bishops Graham, Robert and Ian will take turns rowing the
boat. They will cast off from Cropthorne at 8.30am on Tuesday 19 September and
hope to make steady progress down the river, navigating four locks before
reaching the slipway in Tolsey Road, Tewkesbury at around 6.30pm.

The Diocese of Worcester is one of 42 dioceses in the Church of England. It covers an area of 671 square miles and includes parishes in the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell.

From: Sam Setchell, Press Officer for the Diocese of Worcester and the Bishop of Worcester.